Paper-guide for type-writers.



PATENTED APR. 28, 1903.

A. SWINDLEHURST. PAPER GUIDE POR TYPE WRITERS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY l0, 1902.

No MODEL.

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ALBERT SWINDLEHURST, OF MONTREAL, CANADA, ASSIGNOR TO THE OLIVERTYPEWRITER COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPO- RATION OF ILLINOIS.

saeenmeuins Foa TYPE-wm'rene SPECIFICATION forming part of LettersPatent No. 726,591, dated April 28, 1903.

Application ledJuly l0, 1902. Serial No. 115,083, (No model.)

To @ZZ whom, t *may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT SWINDLEHURST, ofMontreal, countyofI-Iochelaga, in the Province of Quebec and Dominion of Canada, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Paper-Guides forType-Writers; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full,clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon,which formapart of this speciiication.

This invention relates to improvements in type-writing machines, andrefers more speciiically to guiding devices for guiding the advance edgeof a sheet of paper upon the platen as it approaches the striking-pointof the typeheads and for holding the same properly engaged with theplaten at the time it receives the impression of the types.

My improvements are herein shown as applied to an Oliver type-writingmachine of the general construction shown and described in the priorpatent 4to Thomas Oliver, No. 599,863, granted March 1, 1898; but saidimprovements may be applied to machines of other kinds to which they maybe adapted.

As shown in the drawings, Figure lis a perspective view of the type barsupporting frames of an Oliver type-writing machine, showing thestandards by which they are su pported from the machine, a part of theearriage, and a portion of the carriage-shifting frame. Fig. 2 isacross-section taken through the carriage and platen, presser-rollers,and paper-guides and showing also a portion of the shifting-frame.` Fig.8 is a perspective view of one of the paper-guides embodying myinvention removed from the machine.

As shown in the drawings, A designates the rotative platen, the shaft aof which extends through and has rotative engagement with end plates BBof the carriage-frame. Said platen-shaft is provided at one end with aturning-knob A.

C C designate U -shaped type-bars, of which there are two sets, onelocated on each side of the striking-point of the types. But one bar ofeach set is herein shown. Said type-bars are supported on a frameconsisting of an anguiar bottom frame I), to which said typebars arepivoted, a loop-frame D, rising from said frame D, and an obliquesupport D2, against which Ihe type-bars rest when thrown backwardly fromthe platen. frames are supported on the upper ends of standards E, whichrise from the base E' of the machine.

E designates a portion ofthe carriageshifting frame, and F' the frontrail thereof, on which the carriage travels during the operation ofprinting.

G designates the forward horizontal longitudinal bar of the carriage, onthe rear margin of which is formed the rack-bar, which constitutes apart of the letter-spacing mechanism of the machine. Said bar G isprovided with rollers G, which rest and roll upon the bar F of theshifting-frame.

H H I-I2 designate presser-rollers located beneath and in front of theplaten, between which and the platen the advance edge of a sheet ofpaper is guided as it is inserted into the machine and which act topress and hold the paper against the platen. Said rollers are supportedin the machine-frame in the same manneras shown in the said Oliverpatent hereinbefore referredto. As these features of the constructionconstitute no part of the present invention, they need not be more fullyherein described. A strip I, marked with a scale, is mounted on theupper free ends of the supporting-arms 72, of the upper front rollersH2. Said strip is loosely connected at its ends with said arms, so thatthe free margin thereof may adjust itself with respect to the platen.

J designates the lower guide-plate, which is attached at its ends to theend plates of the carriage-frame in rear of the platen and inclinesdownwardly and forwardly to direct the entering margin of the sheet ofpapervbetween the platen and lower rear presser-roller H.

K designates an upper guide-plate located above the plate J andconnected at its ends with the end plates B of the carriage. Said plateK is located in position to receive the advance edge of the paper as itpasses from Said type-bar the platen to guide said paper away therefromand to prevent it from reentering the space between the platen and theadvance presser-roller H.

The foregoing parts of the machine are similar to the construction shownin the prior patentto Oliver, hereinbefore referred to, and only suchparts of the machine are illustrated as are necessary to anunderstanding of the application of my present improvements to saidmachine.

Referring now to the improvements constituting my invention, they areconstructed as follows: L L designate two curved guideplates locatedbetween the carriageplaten and the type-bar-supporting frames D, betweenwhich and the platen the advance edge of a sheet or sheets ot' paperpass as the same reaches the top of the platen or the strikingpoint ofthe types, said plates acting to hold the paper in close contact withthe platen during the operation of printing. Said guideplates L arecurved at their rear parts to conform to the curvature of the platen. Attheir adjacent ends the said plates preferably extend toward each otherslightly beyond the supporting-frame for the type-bars and at theirouter ends reach nearly to the ends of the platen. Said guide-plates Lmay be supported in any suitable manner over the platen by means holdingthe plates longitudinally immovable with respect to the carriage, sothat the platen Awill move backwardly and forwardly beneath theguide-plates. As herein shown, said plates are mounted on verticalstandards or posts M, which are attached at their lower ends to the partF ofthe shifting-frame, said standards being provided with integralhorizontal lugs or projections M, which extend beneath said part F ofthe shiftingframe and are rigidly affixed thereto. Said standards extendupwardly in front of the platen, one adjacent to each of the standardsE, which support the type-bar frames. In order to provide means forpermitting movement of the guide-plates toward and from the surface ofthe platen in order that uniform pressure of the guide-plates on thepaper may be maintained when a greater or less number of sheets of paperare used, as in duplicating by carbon-paper and under othercircumstances, the guide-plates have vertically-movable connection withthe supportin g-standards M. In the particular construction illustratedthe guide-plates L are connected with said standards M by means ofintegral shanks L', which are bent downwardly from the forward marginsofsaid guideplates and have sliding connection with the standards. Asherein shown, said standards are provided with loops m', which aresecured to the same and through which the Shanks L of the guide-platesextend in the manner shown in Fig. 3. This construction affordsvertically-sliding connection of the guideplate shanks with thestandards and permits said guide-plates to be shifted upwardly anddownwardly with respect to their supportingstandards to admit'thepassage of paper of Varying thicknesses or a greater or less number ofsheets of paper between the same and the platen.

Means are provided for yieldingly holding the guide-plates L in contactwith the platen or a sheet of paper passing between the same and theplaten, so that said plates will automatically accommodate themselves topapers of Varying thicknesses or varying numbers of sheets of paper. Asherein shown, such yielding connection is afforded by means of springsL2, so applied as to act downwardly on the guide-plates, said springspreferably having the form of spiral contractile springs, one end ofeach of which is attached to a hook Z on the shank L and the other endto a similar hook m2 on the standard or post. In assembling the partsthe springs L2 will usually be placed under tension, so that said plateswill bear with a slight degree of pressure against the platen.

The inner or adjacent ends of the guideplates L are provided withupwardly-curved lips Z', which act in the endwise movement ot' theplaten to guide the side marginof a sheet of paper between theguide-plate and the platen in the event of a sheet of paper or envelopbeing used which is so narrow that one or both of its side margins passbeyond or inside of the inner end of one of the guideplates when theplaten reaches either limit of its endwise movement. Said upwardlycurvedlips stand inside of the inner end margins of the plates, so as toengage the margin of the paper in advance of the end margins proper ofthe guide-plates, and thus insure the entrance of the paper between theplates and platen.

It will be noted that in the construction described, wherein theguide-plates are attached to the shifting-frame, said plates movebackwardly and forwardly with the carriage, and therefore maintain theirlateral position relative to the platen.'

The yielding connection of the guide-plates with the parts which supportthe same is of considerable importance, for the reason that thereby asubstantially uniform pressure is exerted upon the paper at the top ofthe platen notwithstanding variations in the thickness of the paper orthe number of sheets used, asin making a number of carbon copies.Obviously if the plates be immovable toward lOO IOS

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and from the platen the pressure on papers instance, on the lower sideof the type-bar frames, 'as in my prior patent, No. 691,503, datedJanuary 21, 1902.

I claim as my invention- 1'. In a type-writing machine, the combinationwith the carriage-shifting frame, the carriage and platen, oftype-barsupporting frames located above the platen, and guideplateslocated Vbetween the said type bar frames and the platen, saidguide-plates being connected with and supported by the shifting-frame.

2. In a type-writing machine, the combination with a carriage-shiftingframe, a carriage and platen, of type-bar-supporting frames locatedabove the platen and guide-plates located between the type-bar framesand the platen, and means4 for movablyt supporting said guide-plates onthe shifting-frame, affording movement of said guide-plates toward andfrom the platen.

3. In a type-writing machine, the combination with a carriage-shiftingframe, a carriage movable longitudinally thereon, and typebar-supportingframes located above the platen, of guide-plates located between thetype-bar frames and platen, and means for supporting said plates,affording movement thereof toward and from the platen.

4. In a type-writing machine, the combination with a carriage-shiftingframe, a carriage and platen, of type-supporting frames located abovethe platen and guide-plates for holding the paper against the platen,said platen being located between the type-bar frames and the platen ateither side of the printingpoint and means for movably supporting saidguideplates on the shiftingframe, constructed to hold the sameyieldingly against the platen.

5. In a type-Writing machine, the combination with the shifting-frame,and a carriage longitudinally movable thereon and provided with aplaten, of guide-plates located above Said platen and supported on saidshiftingframe, and yielding connections between said plates and theframe aording downward pressure of the plates upon the platen.

6. In a type-writing machine the combination with the shifting-frame anda longitudinally-movable carriage thereon provided. with a platen, atype-bar-supporting frame located above the platen, guide-plates locatedbetween said platen and the shifting-frame, shanks on said guide-platesand standards attached to the shifting-frame with which the said Shankshave endwise sliding engagement.

7. In a type-Writing machine, the combination with the shifting-frameand a longitudinally-movable carriage thereon provided with aplaten, ofguide-plates located above said platen,and provided withdownturnedshanks, Standards affixed to said shifting-framewith whichsaid Shanks have longitudinal sliding engagement, and spring connectionsbetween said Shanks and standards producing downward pressure of theguide-plates on the platen.

8. In a type-writing machine, the combination with the shifting-frameand a longitudinally-movable carriage thereon provided with a platen, ofguide-plates thereon located above the platen and provided withdownwardlyprojecting Shanks, tached to the shifting-frame and providedwith loops through which extend the Shanks of Said plates, and springsconnecting said standards with the Shanks whereby said plates are heldyieldingly against the platen.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I aiix mysignature, in presence of two Witnesses, this 27th day of June, A. D.1902.

ALBERT SWINDLEHURST.

Witnesses:

H. H. THOMAS, A. T. SKILL.

vertical standards at-v

